Things to do in the Coulee area
The Ridge Riders Junior Rodeo is being held at the Delano rodeo grounds this weekend, and admission is free! The action will start at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 14, and at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, July 15-16. A western style jail themed playhouse will go to a raffle winner. Read the full article by clicking here.
Check your calendar closely.
This year’s Festival of America is coming Friday and Saturday, June 30 and July 1.
This year’s July 4 Independence Day holiday falls on Tuesday. Chamber of Commerce officials don’t think their annual festival would get good attendance if it were held on a Tuesday, as the work week is split in two.
But there are some real treats to come on the two new dates, the Friday and Saturday just before July 4:
The fireworks over the dam will fire off just after the Laser Light Show Saturday evening, about 10:30 p.m.
In the park below the Visitor Center at Grand Coulee Dam, there’s a full set of music performances both evenings.
Friday, June 30, tenor Joseph Saachi and mezzo-soprano Marija Bonsnar, with Michael Plagerman at the keyboard, will perform from 5 to 6:30 p.m., with the Spokane River Band performing from 7:45 to 9:45.
On Saturday, the 3D Band will kick off the music program, from 4:45 to 6:45, with Jesse Quandt performing from 7:45 to 9:45.
The Beer Garden returns to the Melody Restaurant site.
The park below the Visitor Center will be packed with arts and craft vendors and food stalls.
Remember to mark your calendar for the change of dates.
Watch for The Star’s special section next week.
The circus is coming to town, and no, not your in-laws. An actual circus! The Culpepper & Merriweather Circus, to be exact. Complete with lions, tigers, a huge tent, and a variety of other entertainment.
The circus will take place at North Dam Park on Thursday, June 8, with two 90-minute shows starting at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The circus has been featured on National Geographic’s Explorer television series, Entertainment Tonight, the A&E special “Under the Big Top,” and in “On the Road with Circus Kids,” a Nickelodeon special.
A press release from Culpepper & Merriweather said that additional acts will include trapeze, prancing ponies, unicycles, a female contortionist, and tightrope walkers. Original music, a giant tent, elaborate costumes, and original music complete the experience.
Between 9:30 and 10 a.m. the curious are welcome to watch the raising of the big tent and receive a free tour, offering the opportunity to learn all about the circus, including topics such as the hygiene, grooming, and veterinary care of all the animals.
The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce was approached in December by Culpepper & Merriweather about hosting the circus while they were in the surrounding area. The chamber said yes, agreeing to provide running water, a dumpster, and to dispose of the animal waste. A check for $290 from the Chamber may be refunded if there are enough ticket sales to cover all the expenses.
The event marks the first time a full-fledged circus has been in the area since the last millennium.
Tickets are available for purchase at Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union, H&H Grocery, Coulee Hardware, The Star newspaper, Loepp’s Furniture, the Nespelem Trading Post, the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, Coulee Medical Center, Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center. Advance tickets are $10 for adults, and $7 for seniors and children ages 2-12. Children under two get in free. On show day, tickets will be $13 for adults and $8 for seniors and children.
Staff from the Colville Tribal Fish Hatchery have released 50,000 triploid rainbow trout into Rufus Woods Lake between February and March, a press release from the Colville Tribes Fish & Wildlife Department stated. The fish average two pounds each, and some are fitted with tags.
Rufus Woods Lake is the length of the Columbia River from the Grand Coulee Dam to Chief Joseph Dam.
Anglers who catch the tagged fish are encouraged to contact Colville Tribal Fish & Wildlife at (509)-634-2113, to report information related to the catch to assist biologist in managing annual fish releases.
All non-tribal-members who are fishing by boat on the boundary waters of the reservation or from the shore of Rufus Woods at the Designated Fishing Area (DFA) must have either a valid Colville Indian Reservation Fishing Permit or a valid fishing license issued by the State of Washington. Non-members fishing from the reservation shoreline outside of the DFA must have a tribal permit.
At this time, there is only one DFA on Rufus Woods which is located downstream of the Pacific Aquaculture Fish Farm net pens. Colville tribal members must possess a Colville tribal identification card that serves as a permit to fish. Anglers who purchase tribal permits help support the continued success of this fishery.
Pictured below are Erica Moses, Fisheries Tech, at the Rufus Woods release, and the Rufus Woods Net Pens
The Candy Point Trail is a pleasant, short-but-challenging hike that starts right in town at Coulee Dam and ascends about 700 feet up flights of stone steps and trail, eventually leading to either Candy Point towards the left, or Crown Point, our community’s popular spaceship-looking viewpoint, to the right.
Both offer a great overview of the dam, with Crown Point affording an additional panorama down river. We’ll focus here on the Crown Point path; the branch to the left from the top winds back down behind the town hall where work has recently been done to restore the trail.
“It’s one of the best trails I’ve ever seen.” — Alan Carter Mortimer, Washington Trails Association crew leader
Oddly enough, the trail starts in a private backyard, but don’t worry, there are signs on the sidewalk saying it’s perfectly fine to walk through the yard to the trailhead, which you can easily see from the road. As the sign says, it’s quite the workout, but the views are well worth it.
From the get-go, it is common to hear birds singing their songs, and see nice green areas that look like a perfect place to have a picnic. It is not uncommon to see deer grazing along the hillsides. As is the case in most of eastern Washington, be prepared to give rattlesnakes a respectable distance if you see one, which you probably won’t.
The stone steps comprising much of the trail are very impressive landscaping work that must have taken a lot of hard work to install by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a federal project that put people to work in during the Great Depression. Now that you know this, you won’t be tempted to think you’ve stumbled on to the remnants of some ancient civilization.
In 2017, the town of Coulee Dam’s Parks and Natural Resources Board worked with the Washington Trails Association to clear brush along the 2.25-mile trail. With an OK from the Bureau of Reclamation after it conducted an archaeological survey, around 20 volunteers for the WTA did “tread work” on the trail, helping steady and repair the many stone steps that span lengths of the trail, as well as widening and defining it, clearing rocks, and more.
“It’s one of the best trails I’ve ever seen,” said Alan Carter Mortimer, the WTA crew leader on the project. “I’ve been doing this for 21 years, and … I was just amazed! It blew me away.”
Mortimer said that from a historical point of view, and considering the high quality of the rock walls and steps left by the CCC, the trail that has deteriorated for decades “should be way more popular.”
“It’s really cool because it goes up to a great view of the dam and everything,” he said. “You go up and it’s a really great place to have lunch on top.”
It takes 30 minutes or more to get to the top, quite the workout for the legs. Once at the top you’ll find magnificent views of the dam, the bridge, the river, the town, and beyond.
After resting a while, and taking in the views, heading back down takes about 20 minutes. In the end, you get to have a great workout, see wildflowers and birds, take some great photos of the dam … a great way to spend an hour or two.
Here’s a map to help you start out.